That we Luhyas love our chicken is an old cliché. In this article, we look at the hidden meaning of cockfight in Luhya culture and end up stating the obvious. I have come to learn that a cockfight is not a frequent happening, which is a thing that is rather unusual given the outward show … Read more
A story from my childhood on my first ever meeting of yabunje the royal rat; and all Bukusu culture about this fabled rodent. True story. We had closed school. August it was, sometime in the early nineties. An August unlike this past one where children were in school as the pandemic disrupted the school calendar. … Read more
The Luhya of Western Kenya had a body of knowledge which they relied on to make sense of dreams. Join us as we rediscover an old art lost in translation and retell forgotten traditions, as we reveal what it means among the Luhya when you dream of someone. Some neuroscience experts estimate that we dream … Read more
Growing up, we never knew that dentists were there to remove teeth. All our milk teeth were extracted at home by the erstwhile, experienced family dentist: dad. But the experience of tooth removal didn’t end at his hands. The whole community, was involved one way or the other. Tooth removal the Luhya way: Myths and … Read more
Luhyas don’t just dream. We see in our sleep. In fact, in most Luhya dialects, the Luhya word for dream will stem from words that mean ‘to see’. For instance, among our Bukusu brothers the word for dreams is kamaroro, meaning visions or sightings. This is because in Luhya culture, dreams are a medium by … Read more
In part nine of this series on how to get away with eating rats- chimbeba, we opined that cheating wasn’t a cheap life style choice. In the same way, this installment of the twelve part series further cements this truth by way of describing in some detail, the ways of our forefathers. This captivating take … Read more
What happens when one is caught in the act? Bad things my brother. Horrible things. Luhya myths on infidelity utilize shame to keep the woman in check. For the man, the threat is death. An immediate, shameful death. As you may know, there’s little outside shame that the female psyche fears. For men, death is … Read more
In luhya culture, children are greatly valued. Consequently, the underlying theme in most stipulates of luyha traditions and folklore, is the engineering of a society with mulembe. Meaning, a society that protects and nourishes children. As these luhya myths on infidelity where children are involved demonstrate, child protection services didn’t start with the white man. … Read more
Meat in luhya culture, like in many African cultures, holds special cultural value. For example, luhya brothers are forbidden from sharing emondo . (The Maragoli and not Batsotso meaning of the word, thus chicken gizzard.) Sharing emondo would result in lifelong animosity between the two. This curse could easily trickle down generations resulting in brothers … Read more
Do luhya myths on infidelity apply to non luhyas? Well, there’s always that tingly when in a cross-cultural/tribal relationship. This is because everything with beau and your relationship feels exotic. Further, there’s that inflated sense of ‘winning’, especially when one thinks forward and imagines how cute the kids will be. The truth, however, is that … Read more
